If one of your goals is to live a more waste-free lifestyle, you can start with your beauty routine. Making the switch to eco-friendly beauty products is the easiest way to reduce habits that could hurt and pollute the environment. Luckily, there's been a rise in local, eco-friendly beauty and personal care brands that make sustainable options more accessible to everyone. When you buy their products, not only will you be producing less waste, but you'll also be supporting our local artisans and entrepreneurs. Yay!
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Below is a comprehensive list of local makeup, skincare, hair, and personal care brands that can help you jump-start your sustainable lifestyle.
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Zero Basics
Famous Products: Deodorant, Zero Basics Vitaminizing Face Mask, Tooth Powder
Where to Buy: Instagram, Try Vegan PH, Mandala Sunday Market, BeautyMNL
Living a zero-waste lifestyle can be tough, especially if you're not sure where to get products that don't come in single-use plastics. That's where Zero Basics, a small personal care company, come in. They offer consumers products that are vegan, all-natural, organic, and best of all, refillable. Each product comes in a glass bottle or container which you can bring back to their store for discounted refills.ADVERTISMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW ↓ -
Sinaya Cup
Famous Products: Menstrual Cup
Where to Buy: Sinaya Cup Website
Cramps might not be the only thing getting you down when you're on your period. Like us, you could be feeling a bit guilty about all the pads and tampons you've had to throw away throughout the years. (ICYDK, pads and tampons end up in a landfill and it takes years for them to disintegrate.) If that's the case, try switching to a menstrual cup! The Sinaya Cup offers two sizes designed to cater to the intensity of your period's flow. You can also buy their cleanser and sterilizer to keep the cup clean and ready to use for your next period. -
So True Naturals
Famous Products: Nat and Davey Cologne, Castile Soaps
Where to Buy: So True Naturals Website
Mia Lauchengco's brand started when she realized her baby needed a bath product that could suit her sensitive skin. To address this, she started mixing her own Castile soap which is made of all-natural ingredients. Her line has expanded to fragrances as well and of course, they're all safe for babies to use.
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Artem Skincare + Apothecary
Famous Products: Essential Oils, Relaxing Bath Soak
Where to Buy: Artem website, Shopee
Aside from their ready-to-use products, they also sell the ingredients—carrier oils, flowers, essential oils, and beeswax. Check them out if you want to create your own personal care and skincare products.
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Ilog Maria
Famous Products: Propolis Tooth Powder, Propolis Cider Liniment
ADVERTISMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW ↓Where to Buy: Ilog Maria Website, Ilog Maria Honeybee Farm
This farm produces its handmade, bee-based products in small quantities to make sure the products are always fresh. The makers behind Ilog Maria ensure that all their natural products are created in a way that doesn't harm the bees in their farm.
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Daniela Calumba
Famous Products: Cold Processed Soaps, Virgin Coconut Oil, Coffee Body Scrub
Where to Buy: Instagram
If you're concerned about the ethical sourcing of ingredients, look no further! Daniela creates products with the skin's integrity in mind, and she's also transparent about where she gets the ingredients for her skincare line. A quick scroll through her Instagram will reveal how she loves patronizing local farms for materials and resources.
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Akkula
Famous Products: Natural Lip Balms, SPF 30+ Mineral Sunscreen
Where to Buy: Akkula.ph
Commercial lip balms are often cased in plastic tubes and bottles which are harmful to the environment. If you're trying to lessen your use of plastics, try Akkula's vegan lip balm. The packaging is made from compostable kraft paper. Once you've used it up, you can guiltlessly throw the paper away in your garden so it can naturally decompose.
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Lana PH
Famous Products: DNA Repair Elixir, Skin Protect Brightening Sunblock, Lash and Brow Growth Serum
ADVERTISMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW ↓Where to Buy: Lana PH Website, Refuse Zero Waste Store
Still trying to find a sunscreen that won't trigger acne breakouts? Or how about a facial serum that can rejuvenate and brighten your complexion without leaving it feeling greasy and sticky? Lana PH has both for you! The DNA Repair Elixir and Skin Protect Brightening Sunblock, as well as their other skincare products, are formulated with natural, non-comedogenic, and cruelty-free ingredients. They're also made with the Pinay lifestyle in mind: The products aim to protect your skin from environmental stressors like pollution and the sun.
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V&M Naturals
Famous Products: Emu Oil, CPG+ Oil
Where to Buy: Instagram
This brand started out with one employee and a platform on Multiply (what a throwback!) in 2008, and 11 years later, it has grown to more than 50 employees and 11 physical stores. The brand champions the use of all-natural ingredients—an amazing feat when you consider the amount and variety of products they offer.
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Finn
Famous Products: Dewy Skin Tints, All Natural Matte Lipsticks, Highlighter Bronzer Duo
Where to Buy: Finn Website
If you're obsessed with makeup, give Finn a shot. The indie brand offers a wide range of makeup (and even skincare) products—and they all come in minimalist, IG-worthy packaging. The best part? Once you've used up all the product, you can just have them refilled at one of their pop-ups.
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Rraw PH
Famous Products: Clay Masks, Body Frostings, Jelly Highlighters
Where to Buy: Shopee
This Iloilo-based brand cares about two things: Creating naturally-made products and caring for animals. On their website, you'll find an array of deliciously-scented beauty products. They also have a "Donate" page where you can choose to give between P20 to P100 to animal shelters.
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Apotheke Skincare
Famous Products: Spot Treatment, Detoxifying Clay Mask, Niacinamide 10%
Where to Buy: Shopee
A concern you might have when switching to natural skincare is finding the right products suited for your complexion type. Most small-scale brands usually cater to dry, normal skin types, but Apotheke Skincare has a product for whatever skin issue you're dealing with—whether it's acne, eczema, or fine lines and wrinkles. Since their entire line was formulated by a molecular biologist and a medical doctor, you can be sure you're getting *quality* products.
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Sage & Tera
Famous Products: Vanishing Spell. Tala Midnight Drops, The Cullen DNA
Where to Buy: Shopee
This no-BS brand offers a small line of artisan skincare made from botanicals and plant-derived ingredients. The products are even sold in bundles so you can get a complete skincare routine at a more affordable price. -
Altr
Famous Products: Savon; Shampoo Tablets, Savon; Conditioner Tablets
ADVERTISMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW ↓Where to Buy: Instagram
Ditch your bulky shampoo and conditioner bottles and opt to use Altr's ~hair tablets~ when you travel. With one tablet being equivalent to two to three washes, you won’t have to worry about your toiletries taking up space in your luggage. Since they're in solid form, you can put them in your carry-on bag. -
Mayumi Organics
Famous Products: ShaCon Bars, Sulfate-Free Shampoo Bars
Where to Buy: Refuse Zero Waste Store, Mayumi Organics Website
One big concern people have about shampoo bars is that they don't lather up quite as good as liquid shampoos. If you have the same concern, then you should try Mayumi's shampoo bars. They're made from organic and natural ingredients, and they make a satisfying lather when wet. They also come in a wide range of scents, so you'll have no problem choosing your bars. -
Squeaky Clean Kids
Famous Products: Shampoo Bars, Conditioner Bars, Organic Handmade Soaps
Where to Buy: Refuse Zero Waste Store, The Good Store
The brand sources its all-natural, organic ingredients from Lipa, Batangas. Three doctors founded Squeaky Clean Kids with the aim of giving children in poor communities access to hygiene products. For every product you purchase, the same product goes to a child in need.ADVERTISMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW ↓ -
OIAM Natural Essentials
Famous Products: Naturally Naked Detoxifying & Volumizing Shampoo Bar, Gotta Glow Face & Body Oil
Where to Buy: OIAM Website, The Good Trade
When OIAM started, they wanted to be the one-in-a-million (Get it?) skin and haircare brand that produces natural products that are good for the skin and hair. They don't shy away from activated charcoal, which makes their shampoo bars extra special and clarifying. -
Matenara
Famous Products: Gugo Shampoo, Gugo Conditioner, Dry Shampoo
Where to Buy: Matenara Website, The Good Trade, KatHa Lifestyle Store
Aside from offering shampoo bars, Matenara also has sulfate-free shampoos + conditioners and dry shampoos. The brand makes use of local ingredients and rejects testing on animals (they started out with paw balm, after all). They also want to do good for the planet by using reusable and recyclable packaging. -
BeachBorn
Famous Products: Sea Salt Spray, Sunset Spray, Classy Not Brassy Purple Shampoo
Where to Buy: BeachBorn Website
If you're looking for a texturizing spray to get beach wave hair, or need a purple shampoo for your colored locks, look no further than BeachBorn. The brand got its start when creator Sarah Tirona realized that there were a lot of products she wanted to try that just weren't available in the Philippines. So, she began formulating her own products!ADVERTISMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW ↓ -
Human Nature
Famous Products: Sunflower Beauty Oil, Pure Rosehip Oil, Hair Revival Coco Mask
Where to Buy: Human Nature Website, Beauty Bar, Robinsons Supermarket
When it comes to natural, local beauty brands, Human Nature has come a long way since its creation in 2007. During a trip to the U.S. for Gawad Kalinga, founder Anna Meloto-Wilk saw the demand for natural, organic products and realized that this could be the key to helping alleviate poverty in the poorest of sectors—agriculture. Today, the brand employs hundreds of workers and has never once compromised its pro-poor and pro-environment advocacy.
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